E L C E R R I TO HIGH SCHOOL ARCHIVING PROJECT
The Only Museum Within A High School
The El Cerrito High School Archiving
Project was established in 2005, to
preserve the history of El Cerrito
High School. It was formed by parents,
alumni, and teachers who felt the
traditions, artifacts, and legacy of the
school had value and wanted to make
it available to future generations. The
group has continued the efforts for the
last fourteen years, and also encourages
future alumni through the awarding
of scholarships. Since the group was
established they have created a history
museum inside the school and given out
over $38,000 in scholarships.
Beginnings
El Cerrito High School opened in
1941 and developed a reputation
for excellence. By the 1950s it was
considered one of the best high schools
in the United States. In addition to
excellence in academics, the high school
produced some prominent people,
including Pumpsie Green (Boston
Red Sox), John Thomas (San Francisco
49ers), Maria Remenyi (1966 Miss
USA), and Roddy Lee (1972 Olympics).
Perhaps the most well-known alumni
were the four members of the rock
band, Creedence Clearwater Revival
(1963).
Preserving the history of the school
In 1989, after the San Francisco Bay
Area was rocked by the Loma Prieta
Earthquake, engineers were asked to
check out the El Cerrito High School
buildings. It was determined that some
of the buildings had structural and/
or design flaws, and the entire campus
should be replaced. Plans were made
to build a new campus. The PTSA
(Parent Teacher Student Association),
FOR MORE INFORMATION CHECK OUT THEIR WEBSITE AT: WCCUSD.NET/PAGE/11954
22 MARKETPLACECONTRACOSTA.COM DECEMBER 2019
along with several interested community
members, decided to preserve as many
physical objects from the old school
as could be found. The school was
systematically searched and everything
was photographed, catalogued, and an
online record of each item was created.
The artifacts were carefully preserved
and placed in storage. During the
planning phase for the new school the
decision was made to create a worldclass
museum to display the historical
items in the new school. After more
than four years the new campus was
completed and opened in January, 2009.
Farewell Weekend
In 2005, just before the old buildings
were torn down, the Archiving Project
hosted a three-day weekend event to
say “good-bye” to the old school. It
was called “Before the Wrecking Ball
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By Kent Sanctuary